More lynx, less habitat

COLORADO

A U.S. Forest Service proposal for managing the threatened Canada
lynx could pull the rug out from under a $2 million effort to
restore the reclusive feline to its native Colorado habitat.

The lynx was considered extinct in Colorado until the
state Division of Wildlife released 129 into the wild, beginning in
1999. So far, the reintroduction — the first of its kind in
the nation — has been a success: In February, officials
announced that at least six of the 16 kittens born in the San Juan
Mountains last spring are still alive. Planning is under way for
the release of 50 more lynx in April.

But on Jan. 30, the
Forest Service released new recommendations for amending the
management plans for most of the national forests in the state.
They prioritize oil and gas exploration, power lines, pipelines,
forest thinning and snowmobile trails over lynx habitat protection.

Even before the recommendations were released, almost
half of the 12.2 million acres of suitable lynx habitat studied
were zoned for logging, grazing, ski resorts, snowmobiling and
utility corridors. The new exemptions for energy development and
forest thinning will likely open more habitat to development. They
were included to comply with President Bush’s Energy and
Healthy Forests initiatives, says Lois Poppert, the Forest
Service’s Southern Rockies Lynx Team Leader.

Ironically, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service protected the
lynx under the Endangered Species Act in 2000, it stated that the
greatest threat to the cat was the lack of attention given the
animal in forest management plans.

Lynx are also taking
the back seat in a similar proposal on 18.5 million acres of public
lands in the Northern Rockies.

The Southern Rockies
Canada Lynx Amendment Draft Environmental Impact Statement is
available at www.fs.fed.us/r2/projects/lynx/. Public comment is
open until April 29.